The Devil's Fire Read Online Free PDF Page B

Here was a man who, as far as Livingston had known, was incapable of bleeding. He had served with Griffith for most of his piratical career, and in all that time he had never seen the man injured. However, the first woman brought aboard
Harbinger
had spilled more of Griffith's blood in a matter of seconds than he had probably shed in a lifetime.
    Livingston never much liked women; a disposition which had originated with his own mother. She used to shriek so loudly that his father would slap her until she stopped. Violence always seemed to shut her up eventually. As Edward entered his teenage years, his mother turned her vile shrieking on him, bemoaning his budding resemblance his father. His father gave him permission to "smart the bitch" when he so desired, instructing him with a broad grin and a wink, "If she thinks you're so much like me, show her just how much you are." It took Edward a while to get used to hitting his mother, but soon he grew to like it, and it wasn't long before he exercised his newfound power with reckless abandon.
    One day, shortly after Edward had turned fifteen, he struck her so hard that she fell against a table and cracked the back of her skull. Her eyes went dull, as though what little intelligence she possessed had drizzled out of the wound. After that day, she had a terrible time stringing proper sentences together, mixing the words in strange ways. She never shrieked at Edward again, and that suited him just fine. His father congratulated him in succeeding where he had failed, and they shared many laughs as they watched her stumble about, trying to make sense of simple things.
    As for his love life, Livingston had enjoyed the pleasures of countless whores, and had promptly forgotten each of them, save the most recent. So the cycle would continue until the day he died. Women were endlessly complicated creatures, and he had no desire to demystify them. So long as he found them in whorehouses, he would be content with their station in life.
    Whatever madness had possessed Griffith to bring the girl aboard was beyond Livingston’s comprehension. If Griffith needed a whore so badly, he could have found one in the taverns of New Providence. Was Livingston the only one who had seen the inherent danger?
    "Dunno why I'm worried," he said, alerting Griffith to his presence. "With the old coat seeing to her, she’s good as dead."
    "I want you to take a vote on the morrow," Griffith said. "We're returning to the Caribbean."
    Livingston was assailed by visions of blue skies, crystal waters, and the soft, plump breasts of whores. He instantly suppressed the rush of joy, for he meant to uphold his solemnity. "Glad to know we still call votes," he muttered.
    Griffith turned and regarded him with narrow, probing eyes. His raven hair tossed gently in the wind. "You're unhappy."
    "You figured that, eh?" he said. The faintest hint of a smile betrayed him.
    "These damned clouds," Griffith said, aiming a finger at the sky. He was never very subtle at changing the subject, nor did he attempt to be. "Can't see any bloody stars."
    "There’s much you don’t see," Livingston replied, not about to let his friend drift from the topic.
    "What does that mean?" Griffith balked, caught off guard.
    "That sorry excuse for a bachelor's wife," Livingston answered, shaking his head.
    Griffith returned his eyes to the sea. "What about her?"
    "Damn your daftness, man, have you had a glimpse at your ear lately?"
    "I tried," Griffith grinned, "but my eyes stubbornly refuse to bend in that direction."
    "Not the time for jests."
    "I don't want a lecture."
    "Neither did you want half an ear!" Livingston shot back.
    "I was careless," Griffith admitted with an innocent shrug.
    "Finally, you talk sense!"
    "She won't live. You said it yourself. Why worry?"
    Livingston lingered a moment, watching his captain gaze across the ocean, seemingly without a care in the world. The bandage around his ear said otherwise.
     
    Thatcher had mended the